Enkidu and Gilgamesh fighting the Bull of Heaven
| Kategória | Cylinder Seals |
| Description of the seal image | Enkidu and Gilgamesh kill the Bull of Heaven. Enkidu grabs it by the wing with one hand and brandishes a weapon in the other while stepping on the hybrid creature's back. He wears a headband and a triple-belted tunic and has a sword or mace at his waist. Gilgamesh, on the other side, grabs the horns of the winged bull with both hands. He wears a tall headdress and a long, tiered and fringed, open robe over a short tunic and has a cape on his back. He is further armed with a short weapon at his waist. Above the Bull of Heaven is a three-line cuneiform inscription framed and separated by rulings. One cuneiform sign is in front of the creature's head. |
| Figures, motifs/symbols |
- hero 1: Enkidu, bearded, wearing a headband and a triple-belted tunic, has a sword or mace at his waist, brandishing a weapon - hero 2: Gilgamesh, bearded, wearing a tall headdress, a cape and a long, tiered and fringed, open robe over a short tunic, armed with a short weapon at his waist - human-headed winged bull (aladlammu): Bull of Heaven, stumbling - inscription: cuneiform, three lines, framed and separated by rulings |
| Subcategory | cylinder seal |
| Collection | The Metropolitan Museum of Art / The MET / MMA |
| Museum number | MMA 1987.96.10 (MMA L.1986.47.37) |
| Condition, shape | chipped upper and lower edges |
| Culture | Neo-Babylonian |
| Provenance | ex-Martin and Sarah Cherkasky Collection (New York); on loan to the MMA by Martin and Sarah Cherkasky from 1986; gifted by them to the MMA in 1987 |
| First occurence | before 1986 |
| Archaeological context | N/A |
| Registration number | N/A |
| Dimensions (mm): height, diameter | h: 34, d: 14 |
| Material and features | "chalcedony" (Aruz 1987); flawed and veined neutral chalcedony (quartz)" (MMA) |
| Style | cut, modelled |
| Scene | contest, mythological |
| Writing system, language | cuneiform |
| Translation | N/A |
| Bibliography |
Aruz 1987, 45, 71 and 80 no. 69. Aruz, J.: "The Great Empires of the First Millennium B.C.". In: Pittman, H.: Ancient Art in Miniature: Near Eastern Seals from the Collection of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky. New York, 1987, 42–46. MMA: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/327288 [accessed: 14-12-2023]. |